Means of cooling thermal medium



MEANS 0F COOLING THERMAL MEDIUM a ff L.- 25a l/ ,5C i4 Z5 leb '0 El ll 2,4 E? fel @'b I l I B es l l )7a I8 Tia l d INVEN-roR Dec. 12, 1939.

MEANS OF COOLING THERMAL MEDIUM Filed Aug. 24, -1935 2 sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR Ed ar-ol 5.'Come||,Jr. Y@ I @f2 Hl A QRNEY E. s. CORNELL, .JR 2,182,788

Patented Dec. 12j, 1939 UNITED STATES MEANS OF COOLING THERMAL MEDIUM Edward S. Cornell, Jr., Larchmont, N. Y., assignor, by mesne assignments, to American Rad' ator & vStandard Sanitary Corporation, New York, N.. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application August 24,

3 Claims.

'I'he present invention relates to an apparatus for reducing the temperature of water and other vaporizable fluids to a range of temperature as desired below atmospheric temperature. l

; The present invention is more particularly directed to the cooling of water or like fluid serving as the thermal medium to control, that is, reduce the temperature of a room, group or groups of rooms, and/or other spaces of a building or other structure, usually through the intermediation of a central thermal system of interconnected radiators or equivalent, of particular advantage during the heated season, that is to say, when the temperature of the out-door air is relatively high and usually of high moisture content.

In general, my invention comprises subjecting water or other suitable vaporizable thermal fluid to partial vaporization whereby the latent heat of vaporization is extracted from the body of the thermal fluid, thereby reducing itsvtemperature, such step being carried out in suitable structural arrangement to render the same eflicient and within a range of cost of operation to render the invention capable of general usage of comfort cooling of homes, apartments .and the like.

My invention comprises the step and suitable apparatus therefor for attaining such cooling by effecting the vaporization of a predetermined or regulatable portion of the thermal medium under conditions whereby such vaporization reduces the temperature of the body of the medium or substantial portion thereof, preferably by elevating the temperature of the air to enhance its capacity for absorption of moisture, and thereby increasing the B. t. u.s abstracted from the body of the thermal medium.

Pursuant to more preferred forms of my invention, the vaporizable thermal medium is led'to a cooling means comprising, inter alia, a device capable of conveying therethrough a major por--A tion of the medium while affording permeation through the material of the walls of such device of a predetermined or regulatable portion of the medium, subjecting such permeated portion to an induced air current, preferably controlled in elevated temperature and rate of flow in surface contact with such permeable wall material, the thus cooled body o f the thermal medium being conveyed to the thermal system proper, for circulation through the radiators or other thermal units of the respective rooms or other spaces tov 'be cooled.

In certain practical applications Aof my invention, particularly for a central thermal system,

including a closed piping system, I provide suitl 1935, serial No. 37,681

able means, operative upon the medium of the thermal system attaining the predetermined upper limit of temperature, to by-pass the medium to my cooling apparatus, such stage of lay-.passing and circulation of the by-passed medium through' my cooling means taking place until the medium attains apredetermined reduction of temperature,

whereupon such by-passed and cooled body of the Y medium is restored to and distributed in the body of the thermal medium in the house thermal system. A

Further features and objects ofthe invention will be more fully understood from the following detail description and the accompanying drawings, in which Eig. 1 is an elevation, partly broken away in vertical section, of a diagrammatic view showing an arrangement embodying my invention, the same being illustrated inapplication with 'a conventional thermal system employing water as the thermal medium; Fig. 2 is a view similar to that of Fig. 1, inustrating another embodiment of my invention applicable to a conventional thermal System.

Referring generally tothe embodmentsvof my invention illustrated in the drawings, my invention is applicable to a thermal system including a closed piping system, such as is disclosed in my copending application Serial #687,376,'1ed Aug. V29, 1933, entitled Air conditioned heating and cooling system, maturing as U. S. Patent No.

2,038,347 dated April 2l, 1936, and in the systems,

singly and collectively, set forth in my copending applications Ser. Nos. 24,283, filed May`31, 1935, entitled Thermal unit, and #35,661,'1ed August 10, 1935, entitled System of thermal units and assembly of same. Stated briefly, for the purpose of the present invention, water serving as the thermal medium is vcirculated by a suitable circulator,` pump or'the like, to theA thermal unit or units located in the respective rooms or other spaces of,l the vbuilding or other structure, such thermal units being'preferably enclosed in a casing, in which casingis disposed a fan or equivalent actuated by a suitable motor, preferably an air motor operated -under pressure diierential, advantageouslyA under compressed air which has been previously conditioned, the conditioned air upon release by discharge from each air motor actuated thereby, being v discharged into and merging with the air of the room or other space thus served..

' The thermal system set forth in my aforesaid copendirig applications are utilizablev for cooling purposes, that is, for lowering the temperature of the rooms and other spaces, as well as for heating, that is, for elevating the temperatures of such rooms or other spaces.

However, my present invention is not limited to the systems of my aforesaid copending applications, singly or plurally, but is applicable to all other types of thermal systems including present day conventional systems normally operated for the heating, i. e. elevating of temperature of such rooms or other spaces.

Referring now to Fig. 1, Il] represents piping conveying the thermal medium, say, water, of the above or lother approved thermal system, the circulator of such system for the purpose of illustration being indicated at II, the direction of flow of the medium to and from such circulator being indicated by the applied arrows. Fig. 1 illustrates, in conventional manner, and applicable to the thermal system set forth in my U. S. Patent #2,038,347, referred to above, the piping I0 suitably connected to a radiator Illa located in a room or other space indicated at Ib, and a rlac'iator Illc located in a room or other space Cooling means pursuant to the present invention is indicated generally at I2, and comprises as essentials of certain phases of my present invention, one or more elements I3, capable of conveying the body of the medium, i. e., water, but affording permeation through the walls of such element or elements a predetermined or regulatable proportion of the medium, a casing having a regulatable discharge or otherwise arranged to embrace such element or elements, and means for inducing a current of air, preferably heated, in surface contact with such permeable walls.

Such elements I3, say three in number, see Fig. l, may comprise metal pipes I3a provided with spaced perforations and surrounded by permeable material I3b' such as fabric of predetermined warp and weft meshing and thickness of fabric to afford for any given pressure of the medium predetermined permeation of the medium. Such pipes I 3a may, as shown, be connected to the pipes I4, I5, by headers I3c, I3d.

Such casing is indicated at I6 of suitable material, having a regulatable outlet I 6a, and an inlet I6b communicating with the enforced air ow means.

Such air now means may comprise, as shown in Fig. 1, a blower I1 or equivalent whose inlet port I'Ia is connected to a suitable source of air supply I8; the outlet port IIb of the blower or equivalent is connected through the pipe I9 to the chamber 20 equipped with suitable means for elevating the temperature of the'air flow, typifled by the perforated cellular plate 2 I, the cells of which communicate with one another and.

with the inlet and outlet ports 2Ia, 2lb, and

therewith through the piping 22, 23, with the.

interior of the boiler 24, or equivalent, equipped with suitable heating means and heated fluid circulating means.

Accordingly, upon proper regulation of the rate and flow of the heating fluid through the cellular heating plate 2l, the proper regulation of the ow of air through such heating plate 2I enforced by the blower I 1 and coacting control of the extent of opening of the discharge openings I6a of the casing I6, the-frate of vaporization of the predetermined portion of the thermal medium of the cooling system, permeating through the permeable walls of the elements I3, is controlled, with attendant control of the rate of cooling of the body of the thermal medium discharged through the pipe I5.

The portion of the thermal medium thus cooled is suitably delivered to the thermal system. I

Suitable means are provided for supplying to the thermal system increments of the thermal medium in quantity or quantities commensurate with the quantity evaporated during the cooling stage. Such increment supplying means may 1( comprise a oat control valve in a suitable reservoir or through a pressure regulated valve suitably connected with the thermal system, indicated at Ille for regulating such supply to the thermal system. 1I

Preferably, the air supplied to the intake IIa of the blower I'Iv or the like, is dehumidified in whole or in part, for the purpose of increasing the degree of absorption for and entrainment of moisture of the air projected through the cooling 2( casing IB.

Under certain conditions of use, the cooling may be eiected by by-passing the thermal medium through the cooling means in stages, each stage of by-passing ensuing until the desired 2i lowering of temperature has been attained. As one manner of carrying out such arrangement, I have indicated in Fig. 1, the thermostatically controlled valve 25, its thermostat mechanism being indicated at 25a, which is set to be opera- 3( tive for maximum and minimum temperature, at maximum temperature to operate the movable valve member of proper bore openings, to by-pass the thermal medium through the piping I4 into and through the cooling means, 3l thence through the piping I5 to be returned to and circulated in the thermal system, and upon attainment of the desired degree of cooling, i. e. the set minimum temperature of the thermostat mechanism 25a, to disconnect the piping I4 rel- 4| ative to the piping I0,of the thermal system.

Desirably a reservoir or other tank 2B is also employed, its inlet 26a being connected by the pipe 21 with the T-valve body of the thermostat valve 25. The outlet 2Gb of the tank 26 is shown l connected by the pipe 28 to the T-tting 29 communicating at its other ports with the piping I5 and the piping I0 of the thermal system. The appended arrows indicate the alternate paths of ow of the thermal medium under the stated 5( cooling and non-cooling stages.

Such valve 25 may be arranged to by-pass a lesser portion only of the thermal medium when set to effect iiow of the major portion of the thermal medium through the tank 26 in circula- 5t tion of the same through the thermal system.

In the embodiment of my invention set forth in Fig. 2 provision is made for continuous cooling of the thermal medium, and also for the return in whole or in part of the air utilized in its projected fiow through the casing of the cooling means. 'I'he instrumentalities embodied in the system shown in Fig. 2 in common with those of the system shown in Fig. 1, are designated by like reference characters. 5g

In the arrangement of Fig. 2, as in that of Fig. 1, lthe piping I0 of the thermal system is connected to the headers I3c, I3d, of the cooling coils I3, under pressure of the circulator II, the direction of now being indicated by the ap- 7( pended arrows. Pursuant to the arrangement shown in Fig. 2, the blower I1, driven by a suitable motor l0, projects air into the ydelivery chamber Ilia of the casing I6 of the cooling means, the air being derived from vany suitable 7| source, preferably dehumidified by suitable means, say, enclosed in a tank Isa.

The arrangement shown in Fig. 2, embodies further provision for the return in whole or in part of the air after its vaporizing-eiecting projected flow through the casing I 6; as one such suitable means, I have shown the piping 3| connected to the discharge |641 of the casing I6, the piping 3l communicating at its discharge with the by-pass piping 32 in turn communicating at its discharge with the piping 33 leading to the inflow port of the dehumidifying tank I8a. The damper 32a, or equivalent, located in the by-pass piping 32 controls the rate of flow of the air through the cooling means, in combination with the rate of rotation and effective delivery of the air blower I1.

Preferably, the piping 33 communicates with the outer atmosphere of relatively high tempera.- ture and of relatively high moisture content, such piping 33 being shown provided with a damper 33a, or equivalent, for regulating the proportion of fresh air admitted into the piping 33 and merging with the returned air by-passed through the piping 32. Such arrangement is of distinct advantage during the seasons and other occasions of high temperature of the outer atmosphere, thus aording the utilization of the high temperature of the air drawn from the outer atmosphere, in the furtherance of my invention, namely, thus utilizing the high temperature of such portion of such outer atmospheric air portion in promoting the vaporization of the permeated portion of the thermal fluid. Further, I prefer to provide for the discharge of air after its vaporizing-eifecting now through the casing I6 of the cooling` means, as by means of a damper 3Ia, or equivalent controlling the discharge in whole or in proportional part of such air into the outer atmosphere or otherwise.

I have indicated a heater 34 and piping for re-circulating a heated air flow, suitably associated with the dehumdifying tank I8a, applicable with the use of silica gel or the like serving as the dehumidifying agent, and requiring regeneration, as will be understood.

From the above, it appears that my method and apparatus comprise in essentials, leading in whole or in part, the thermal medium from the thermal system, per se, .through suitable means to cooling means, as above set out or equivalent, including a hollow element for conveying the thermal medium, such hollow element having a wall construction affording permeation therethrough of a portion, and preferably a regulated portion, of the vaporizable thermal medium, and projecting a current of air in surface contact with such permeable wall to vaporize the permeated portion of the thermal medium and in operative adjacency with the body of the thermal medium passing through such hollow element, whereby such body of the thermal medium, supplying the necessary B. t. u.s l. e., latent heat of vaporization, is reduced in temperature, as desired.

Preferably, as also appears above, such projected air is heated by suitable means affording continuous ow of the projected air during the stage of heating.

30 Also, the projected air is preferably dehumidiedprinLto its projection in surface contact with the cooling element affording permeation of the thermal medium, and such dehumidified air may be heated, similarly as above described, to further increase its efciency of vaporizing the permeated thermal medium.

Whereas I have described my invention by reference to specic forms thereof it will be understood that many changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. The combination with piping of a thermal system employing a vaporizable thermal Ymedium, of a cooling device including a hollow element, piping connecting said hollow element with the piping of the thermal system, said hollow element having a wall structure affording permeation therethrough of a predetermined portion of the thermal medium, said cooling device further including a casing embracing said hollow element, means communicating, with said casing fo'r projecting air in enforced surface engagement with the permeable wall of said hollow element, dehumidifying means, means communicating with said casing for directing the air after containing vaporized thermal medium through said dehumidifying means, and means for leading the dehumidied air to said air projecting means.

2. The combination with piping of a thermal system employing a vaporizable thermal medium, of a cooling device including a hollow element.- piping connecting said hollow element with the piping of the thermal system, said hollow element having a wall structure affording permeation therethrough of a predetermined portion of the thermal medium, said cooling device further including a casing embracing said hollow element, means communicating with said casing for projecting air in enforced surface engagement with the permeable wall of said hollow element, dehumidifying means, means communicating with said casing for directing the air after containing vaporized thermal medium through said dehumidifying means, means for leading the dehumidied air to said air projecting means and means for heating the air while in its projected flow.

3. The combination with piping of a thermal system employing a vaporizable thermal medium, of a cooling device including a hollow element, piping connecting said hollow element with the piping of the thermal system, said cooling element having a wall structure affording permeation therethrough of a predetermined portion of the thermal medium, said cooling device further including a casing embracing said hollow element, means communicating with said casing for projecting air in enforced surface engagement with the permeable wall of said hollow element, dehumidifying means, means communicating with said casing for directing the air after containing vaporized thermal medium through said dehumidifying means, means for .leading the dehumidiiied air to said air projecting means and means for thermally treating the air while in its projected ow.

EDWARD S. CORNEIL. Ja. 

